It All Comes Down To Love
by zeilfanaat
Summary: Sometimes it is so easy to forget what life is all about. Luckily we’re given plenty of reminders.
1. Chapter 1

**It All Comes Down To Love**

By zeilfanaat

**Category:** Friendship

**Ratings:** G or K, depending on the rating you use.

**Warning:** A/U

**Disclaimer:** "Doc" is not mine. It's produced by Dave Alan Johnson & Gary R. Johnson. No infringement intended. Any characters that are not from the series are mine.

**Spoilers: **Get Me To Church On Time

**Challenge:** i2Eye Fan Fiction Summer Challenge 2007; several titles were given, of which I chose "It all comes down to…" and you had to finish the title yourself.

**Archive:** i2Eye Fan Fiction, Please ask first if you want (me) to post it elsewhere.

**Summary:** Sometimes it is so easy to forget what life is all about. Luckily we're given plenty of reminders.

**A/N:** I almost had this story finished, when my computer decided to delete it. Luckily I had printed most of the story the day before, and the other half I still had in my notes, so all I had to do is retype it. And here it is. I hope you'll enjoy.

**A/N2: **This story is not beta-read, so any and all mistakes are mine. If you see one, please let me know, so I can change it. Thanks!

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Chapter 1:

It was raining. It had been for the past two days, and the whole of today so far. The rain drops just kept on pouring down from the sky relentlessly. Nancy sighed as she looked out of the window, and saw the people hurrying through the streets, trying to stay dry, or at least get to their destinations as fast as possible. Not the most charming weather to be outside. This was the kind of weather she would like to sit at home, on the couch in front of the fireplace, with a good book.

But, one had to work, earn money, otherwise you'd get nowhere. If you thought about it, or even just looked around you, 'money' was no longer just a means of earning a living, it had become a lifestyle for a lot of people.

If you asked someone whether they would like to come over in the weekend for a cup of coffee or lunch, people would answer 'no', saying they had something to do for their job, so rain check? And if you then offered a date for a rain check, they couldn't come, because there was a conference they just had to go to. And once you'd finally agreed on a date, they'd cancel last minute, because the boss had called them, saying there was a problem at work, and if they didn't get there soon, they could start searching for another job. Meaning, another source of income.

If you went somewhere with a friend, it couldn't be too expensive – or should it be, it should be cheap – otherwise the well-earned money ran out too quickly. Unless of course, you paid, hint, hint.

And if you asked someone for a favour, they would ask how much it would earn them.

People just seemed to have become more and more oriented at themselves. Even now, people were hurrying through this _wonderful_ weather, walking past each other swiftly, without giving notice to anyone around them, just to get to wherever they needed to be, because "time is money".

'_Ugh, it's all about money these days,'_ Nancy thought. With some effort, the nurse returned her attention to the folder waiting for her in the filing area. Quick footsteps approached, and Tippy Williams-Doss walked in.

"Hi Nancy!" Tippy said cheerfully, as she put the stack of medical files on the desk in the middle of the filing area.

"Hi Tippy," Nancy replied. She waited for a moment, taking in Tippy's appearance, before adding, "How come you're so happy?"

"Hmm?" the receptionist asked, a pen in her mouth. With a quick look at the first folder, she walked to one of the cabinets and filed it away.

"It's been raining for the whole of two, almost three days, and you're as happy as if you've just heard that Major Doss is getting promoted," Nancy continued, then abruptly looked at her friend. "He's not, is he?"

Tippy smiled broadly, but she shook her head. "Nope, it's not a promotion."

"Ah!" Nancy sat up, a smile on her lips. "But there is a specific reason for your cheerfulness!"

The other woman looked down, and bit her lip, before looking back at the nurse with radiant eyes. "Steven's coming home from his assignment abroad _four_ days early!"

Nancy gasped. "Oh, Tippy, that's great! When did you hear?!"

"Just last night. Oh, I'm so glad he's coming home sooner!" Tippy hugged a file to her chest, and thought of the night before. Nancy watched the other woman. She could see the enormous amount of love she held for her oft-gone husband.

"Isn't there something you people are supposed to be doing? Like working perhaps?" Oliver Crane's voice cut through the comfortable silence that had descended upon the two women, and Nancy rolled her eyes. _'Thank you for ruining the moment!'_

"We are combining work with bonding, something which you're not familiar with I'm sure," Nancy snapped back. Doctor Crane's lips thinned. "I believe we have a coffee area where you can take a break, during which one can _bond_ without it interfering with work. Now, who's my next patient?"

"Eh…" Tippy quickly walked to the front desk and picked up another folder, putting her pen in her mouth so she could look inside. "Iws wsis wurwinzhaw iw woow fwee." She noticed the incredulous look Doctor Crane was giving her, and quickly took the pen from her mouth again. She chuckled nervously like only she could, and repeated, "It's Mrs. Burkinshaw in room three."

Casting his eyes heavenward, Doctor Crane accepted the file that Tippy held out to him, and left. Nancy and Tippy shared a look and shrugged.

Just then Ms. DeWitt walked in, her coat over her arm and her purse in her hand. "Hi Ms. DeWitt," Tippy greeted the clinic's director with her usual charm.

"Hi Tippy, Nancy." Donna nodded at the two women. She put her purse on the desk, and shrugged into her coat.

"You're leaving early today," Tippy observed, checking the clock and then her watch, just to make sure she had the correct time. The small woman nodded once more.

"I'm going to visit Brian and Emma this weekend," she explained.

"Oh, that's sweet of you! I hope you'll have a good time." Tippy immediately went over to Donna and gave her a hug.

"Yeah, say 'hi' to Brian and Emma on our behalf," Nancy added smiling, as she remembered the adorable girl whose father had cancer. With an appreciative smile, Donna took her purse from the desk and left.

Tippy watched her go with a sad smile. "That's so nice of her. It can't have been easy. I mean, first you think you are going to marry but you're just engaged, then you're moving up the wedding to within two weeks, and then there is no wedding because the guy wanted to marry you because he knew he had cancer, and wouldn't be able to provide his daughter with the care she needed, because he couldn't get along with the parents of his deceased wife, so now all you do is go and visit him and his daughter every once in a while. It's sad, but also very admirable." She shook her head and continued with her stack of files, while both Nancy and a patient who was waiting for her appointment blinked. Their eyes met, and Nancy shrugged. _'Tippy at her best.'_

TBC

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A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. Hope you like it. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** And, here's the second chapter. I hope you're enjoying the story.

Chapter 2:

Lunchtime! Actually, for most people lunchtime had finished already, but since they didn't close the clinic during lunch hour, they rotated. Today, both Clint and Nancy were in the late shift, and they had agreed to meet each other at the hospital since Clint wanted to be there for the discharge of one of his patients. Nancy had just arrived on the right floor, when she heard his familiar voice.

"Hey Nance, hope you haven't been waiting long."

Turning around, Nancy smiled at the country doctor. "Got here just a few minutes ago, so no, I didn't have to wait very long." They walked together to the doctor's locker room where Clint put his doctor's coat in his bag, and pulled on his ordinary leather coat.

"Ready to go then?" Clint asked, putting on his hat, and pulling the bag across his shoulder.

"Ready when you are," Nancy responded cheerfully. Her dark mood of earlier had receded somewhat. _'Besides,'_ her mind supplied, _'who could stay 'down' with a guy like that to cheer you up?'_

"Alright, let's go then. I'm as hungry as a horse in a barn whose hay ran out a week ago," Clint replied, and a rumble from his stomach let them know the truth of that statement.

"I can hear that," Nancy said dryly. "We'd better hurry, or New York might run out of hay the moment you actually manage to get to a farm."

Clint gave her an admonishing look. "Very funny." Then he looked just past the blonde nurse, and asked, "Excuse me Ma'am, can I help you?"

An elderly lady was looking very lost, and when she saw the gentle-looking man who offered his help, she gratefully accepted. "Oh, oh, please. I'm afraid I forgot which room I was supposed to go. My grandson is here, you know. I was just going to the bathroom, but I think I went in the wrong direction on my way back. These corridors all look the same to me," she said, looking around again.

"Well don't you worry, Ma'am. We'll get you back to your grandson in no time," Clint said, and added, "I'm Doctor Cassidy, and this is…"

"Hi, Nancy, I'm a nurse," Nancy filled in, extending her hand towards the elderly lady, with a warm smile. The woman took it.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. O'Keefe."

"Do you remember the room number of your grandson's room?" Nancy asked gently.

With a worried look, the lady shook her head. "I'm afraid I forgot that as well."

"Alright, then we'll just ask at the nurses' desk. What's your grandson's name, Ma'am?" Clint asked.

"Gary, Gary O'Keefe," the woman said, clearly feeling much better now that there were two people who obviously knew their way around in this place.

"That sounds like an Irish name," Nancy commented, and the lady looked at her brightly. "Oh yes, it's my husband's name. We moved here from Ireland you know, when we were much younger."

"So I'm guessing Gary is your son's son," Nancy informed, and soon the elderly lady was chatting away about her son and his lovely wife, about her late husband, and about her grandson of course. Meanwhile Clint quickly went to get the room number from the desk, and when he returned, he cheerfully said, "Room 312."

Mrs. O'Keefe's face lit up like a star in the night-sky. "Oh, that's right! 312. Thank you very much. I'm sure I'll be able to find it now."

Clint gave her a broad smile. "I'm sure you could, but we'd be happy to walk you there. Let's go." He took her gently by the arm, and led her in the right direction.

The wrinkled face of the older woman became even more wrinkled as she smiled at him. "Oh dear, that's very nice of you."

Then she turned to Nancy. "Isn't it a shame he's already married?" She patted on Clint's hand where the wedding ring was clearly visible, and she winked at the nurse, who smiled. "Yeah, a real shame."

Clint sent her another one of his looks, but she just smiled. They had soon reached room 312, where they were introduced to the grandson and his mother. They all thanked the doctor and the nurse abundantly for bringing back 'Grandma'. Finally they could go to lunch.

When they arrived back at the clinic, – drenched because of the continuing rain – just before they each went their separate ways, Nancy stopped Clint. "Don't forget dinner with Nate and Beverly tonight," she said. Clint sent her a wide smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He winked. "It means food after all."

Nancy snorted and raised her eyebrows. "How can you think of food after you've just finished lunch where you ate an extraordinary amount of food, which even a horse, which hadn't had his hay for a week, couldn't have managed?"

Clint shrugged. "I'm a man, ain't I?" he asked with an easy smile, and he walked off. Nancy rolled her eyes and smiled. _'No doubt about it,'_ she thought as she watched him disappear to his office. _'I just feel sorry for your _wife_ who has to put up with your eating-habits.'_

As she turned back to her own work, a smile lingered on her face.

TBC

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Hope you enjoyed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews, AJeff and Trinitystargazer3!! I'm glad you like it. Hope you'll continue to enjoy it.

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Chapter 3:

Nancy had been working for approximately an hour, when Nellie Hebert walked in with Gracie. Nellie left her umbrella in the corner, where more umbrellas had accrued, then helped Gracie out of her raincoat.

"Hey Nellie, Gracie!" Nancy greeted them, after Nellie had hung the coats on the pegs. "What brings you here?"

Gracie held up a piece of paper and proudly stated, "I've got my school report! We're going to show it to Daddy!"

"Wow, did you get good grades?" Nancy asked, leaning over the counter to be able to look at the young girl. A confused expression fell over Gracie's face.

"No," she stated.

"No?" Nancy asked surprised, and Nellie smiled. "They don't give grades yet; they just say whether her work was good, sufficient, or insufficient. It's mostly good," she reassured the other woman.

"Ah, alright. Well done Gracie! Your Dad should be here any moment."

Sure enough, there came Doctor Derek Hebert. He was walking back with the patient he had just treated, and both were laughing at something the patient had said. That's when Derek noticed his wife and daughter, and quickly said goodbye to the patient.

"Daddy!" Gracie ran up to him, and Derek just had time to put the patient's file on the desk, before catching his daughter.

"Gracie! Nellie! I didn't expect you here. Is everything ok?" he asked worriedly, looking at his wife.

"Everything's fine, Sweetheart, don't worry. Gracie just wanted to show you something," Nellie said with a smile.

Derek looked back at the girl in his arms. "Yeah? What did you come to show me? Is it a ehm a toy?" he asked, and Gracie giggled and shook her head. Derek frowned. "Hmm, is it a drawing?" Again Gracie shook her head, and Derek pretended to be thinking really hard. Then the girl couldn't contain herself anymore, and she laughed. "It's my school report!"

An incredulous look came over Derek's face, and he gave her a kiss. "Wow, that's wonderful Gracie! Let's look at it in my office, huh?"

"Yeah!" Gracie said, and she wriggled her way out of Derek's arms, only to grab one of them the moment her feet touched the ground, and she started to pull him in the right direction. Nellie hung behind slightly, and asked Nancy, "He doesn't have any patients right now, does he?"

"No, don't worry, it will be another half hour before he has the next patient," Nancy assured her. Nellie nodded. "Thanks." She caught up with her husband and daughter, and Nancy watched them go. It was always good to see the love between the parents and their child.

"Tippy! Where is my next patient? He should have been here ten minutes ago." Doctor Crane's voice preceded him to the front desk, as he came stalking out of one of the exam rooms.

"Tippy is getting new printing paper. Which patient do you mean, Doctor Crane?" Nancy asked politely enough, though she would have liked to glare at him for disturbing the moment for the second time that day.

"Mr. Loburn of course!" Doctor Crane exclaimed.

"Oh, he had to go pick up his father this afternoon, so he called this morning and asked whether he could come in earlier."

"Well, I didn't have time this morning, so when is he coming now?" Oliver asked impatiently.

"He already was here earlier," Nancy replied, not inclined to give out information easily right now.

"What! But my schedule was full! Why wasn't I informed of this? He is my patient after all!"

"Doctor Cassidy managed to squeeze him into his schedule. And you _were_ informed. There was a memo both on your desk and on one of the earlier patients' files," Nancy replied. The discontented expression fell from Oliver's face, and was replaced with a look of realisation. His hand went into one of his pockets, and Nancy thought she heard the crumpling of paper. Doctor Crane saw that she had noticed, and a frown creased his brow as he said shortly, "Next time, tell me personally!"

With those words he stalked off.

'_Oh, sure, because I certainly don't have anything else to do,'_ Nancy thought. _'Whatever friendly feelings we have flowing around here, it sure seems to leave Doctor Crane unaffected.'_

Perhaps it was therefore completely unexpected what happened later on, when Clint and Nancy were about to don their raincoats for the quick trip to Clint's truck.

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TBC 


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the review, Trinitystargazer3. Yeah, Gracie is cute. It always makes me laugh when, in the episode "Modelrageous", Derek comes in, and asks Clint, Tippy and Nancy whether they agree that Gracie is a cute girl, and that it's not just him, as the father, thinking that. And then Clint says "Cuter than a day-old calf" ... and Billy Ray Cyrus is the actual father of Noah (who plays Gracie). ;) Anyway, this chapter is longer, so there you go. But I have to warn you, the next chapter will be the last, and it'll be shorter.

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 4:

A middle-aged woman walked in, and was warmly greeted by the same Doctor Crane. "Lynn?" Doctor Crane asked. He sounded pleasantly surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you were over at your sister's place, and wouldn't be back until tonight."

He walked up close to her, and gave Nancy and Clint the shock of a lifetime when he lovingly hugged the woman, and gave her a kiss. The woman smiled.

"Yes, I was, but I left a bit earlier, so I could pick you up. Now you don't have to use public transport. I know how much you hate to use it, especially with this weather."

Oliver smiled down at her. "Thank you."

Suddenly he seemed to become aware of their audience. Aside from Clint and Nancy, Tippy and several other staff members were also gaping at the couple in surprise. Lynn noticed too, but contrary to Oliver's glare, she laughed. "Well, I'm glad to know your co-workers aren't used to seeing you kissing a woman in public. I'd be worried if they were," she said, still grinning. Oliver felt a heat creep up towards his face, but luckily Clint saved him.

"Howdy Ma'am, I'm Doctor Clint Cassidy, Oliver's colleague," he said, holding out his hand. Nancy came to stand next to him, and also introduced herself. Lynn smiled at them both, while Oliver kept his arm protectively around her waist, as if to ward off any other attention. "Hi, pleased to meet you. I'm Lynn Crane, Oliver's wife."

Tippy, who had stood slightly behind Clint and Nancy, now inched forward, smiling broadly. "Hi, I'm Tippy Williams-Doss. It's so good to finally meet you! You should come by more often. Well, not as a patient of course, but just to get to know each other better. Oh, I know! You can come when we have the annual picnic! Well, it's not really a picnic, since we're not actually sitting outside in the park, and we don't bring food in baskets, but it's still getting together with everyone bringing some food, so I guess you could say it's a partial picnic."

Doctor Crane rolled his eyes, and Clint and Nancy exchanged an amused look, before Clint interrupted. "I'm sorry Ma'am, Oliver, Tippy, but we got to get going, or we'll be late. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Crane," he said, putting his hat on his head, and tipping it slightly forwards in greeting. Lynn was not in the least fazed by Tippy's ramblings, and smiled at the leaving couple. "Likewise Doctor Cassidy, Nancy."

Oliver nodded at them, and Tippy waved. Immediately Lynn picked up the conversation with Tippy, asking about when the picnic was being held, etcetera.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Clint made a run for the car, and hurried to get inside. Even that small trip had thoroughly soaked them, and Clint quickly started the engine and turned up the heater.

"No point in getting a cold if you don't have to," he said, as he pulled away from the parking lot. Nancy looked out of the window, as Clint carefully manoeuvred the even busier-than-usual traffic. Again, like she had noticed that morning, people were hurrying through the city, without caring about anyone around them. They were waiting for a traffic light, when she saw an old man without umbrella or raincoat, slowly making his way over the pavement, leaning heavily on his cane. Nancy was about to direct Clint's attention to it, when a young businesslike woman, who had both a raincoat and an umbrella, stopped, and handed the old man the umbrella. The man looked up in surprise, and probably thanked her, because the woman smiled, replied, and waved her hand, as if to say, "Never mind."

The light was green, and they moved forward again, but when Nancy looked back, she could see the woman waving at the old man, who still held the umbrella.

'_Ok, I guess there are still people who care about others,'_ Nancy thought. Once they had reached the apartment building, they both quickly changed into something warm and dry, before they went upstairs.

Dinner at the Jacksons was the way it always was: peaceful up to a certain level, if you didn't take into account Raul arguing over bedtime, or Mattie's mumbling and gurgling. Nancy told all about Crane's wife and what had happened in Technicolor, and Nate told them about a drug dealer they had finally caught today.

Raul was quietly telling Mattie about this girl in school who was really nice. Nancy, who sat on Raul's other side, overheard, but pretended not to have heard a thing. "She's helping me with history, and I help her with maths. She really is very nice. Maybe she'd like to come over, you know, for homework or something. What do you think, Mattie?"

Mattie just gurgled some approving sounds. Not because he had any idea about what Raul had just asked him, but because Raul was paying him attention. You had to encourage that kind of thing, or they'd just walk right past you! "Brrwyaya," Mattie gurgled.

A smile played over Nancy's lips, but when Beverly nudged her, and asked her what had amused her, she merely shook her head, and said she was remembering something. Beverly looked at her funnily, but let it be.

After dinner, Nate picked up the family Bible, and opened it where they had ended the day before. It was Mark 12:28–34, where Jesus answered the Pharisees. The well known words struck Nancy anew. _"… The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."_ (1)

One word stuck out. Love. Nancy stored the thought for later consideration.

They gave thanks, and the men cleared the table, while the women did the dishes. For a while longer, the guests stayed, but then Clint stood, and thanked the Jacksons for the wonderful meal. Nancy followed his lead.

TBC

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(1) Mark 12:29-31, The Scofield Study Bible, New King James Version. 


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the review Trinitystargazer3! I'm glad you liked the reaction of everyone when they realised they were looking at Doctor Crane's wife. :) In a way, I'm glad that the series doesn't mention anything beyond "Doctor Crane has a wife". Leaves us with a lot of freedom to imagine what she's like.

This is the last chapter, so I hope everyone has enjoyed the story. My apologies in advance for the short last chapter.

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Chapter 5:

An hour later, Nancy sat at the desk, reading the Bible. She was currently reading John, and she re-read the passage she knew off by heart. _"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."_ (2)

She thought back to her bad mood earlier that day. She had looked around, and noticed the bad things. But throughout the day, she'd started noticing the positive things.

Tippy, excited to know that her husband was coming back a few days earlier.

Donna, giving her love and compassion to a man and a child she knew would never be hers.

There was Clint, helping out the old lady find the way.

Derek and Nellie, showing their love and pride for Gracie.

Lynn, giving up some time with her family to make sure her husband wouldn't have to take public transport to get home.

Even Oliver Crane himself, with his small gestures of affection and protection.

A stranger, giving an umbrella to someone who needed it more.

The Jacksons, loving both their sons, even though one was adopted, and inviting some friends for dinner.

Raul, helping and being helped with homework.

God, giving His Son to carry the sins of the world so the people who believed in Him would live.

All were examples of love. Parental and neighbourly love, the love between husband and wife, and most importantly, heavenly love, which was incomprehensible, but overwhelming nonetheless.

Suddenly Nancy was pulled from her thoughts, when she felt two hands descend on her shoulders, which gently started to massage her neck and shoulder blades. She let her head fall back, and looked up in her husband's eyes.

"Hey," she said simply.

"Hey," he answered, before dropping a kiss on her forehead. "I love you," Clint said, and Nancy smiled. "I love you too."

She rose, and turned around in his arms. Her head was pressed against his shoulder, and for a while, they just stood their contentedly. So what if sometimes it seemed as if everything was about money or other things. In the end, it all came down to love.

And isn't that exactly where people's salvation started?

"_For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." – John 3:16_

**The End**

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A/N:** Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this story. The quotes came from the Bible (see below). I'm a Christian myself. If you want to know more about it, feel free to drop me a note. 

**A/N2:** The challenge on i2Eye Fan Fiction provided a couple of titles with which you could work. I chose the title "It all comes down to…".

(1) Mark 12:29-31, The Scofield Study Bible, New King James Version.

(2) John 3:16, The Scofield Study Bible, New King James Version.

**A/N3:** If you're looking for more DOC stories, check out the DOC forum where I've gathered as many DOC stories as I could find across the internet. There's also a link to the DOC community here on fanfiction. net, where all the DOC stories on fanfiction. net are gathered, including crossovers with other series. Also, if you know of any stories that aren't mentioned, please let me know. Thanks!


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